Cleary Gottlieb represented Korea First Bank (KFB) in its offering of $300 million 7.267% hybrid tier I securities due 2034, listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. UBS Limited and Lehman Brothers International (Europe) acted as initial purchasers for the offering, which closed today.
KFB is the eighth-largest commercial bank in Korea and is controlled by Cleary client Newbridge Capital. Cleary represented Newbridge in its 2000 acquisition of KFB and represented KFB in its March 2003 issuance of $375 million 5.75% upper tier II notes due 2013 and its October 2003 issuance of $200 million 6.25% lower tier II notes due 2013. This is the first international offering of hybrid tier I securities issued directly by a Korean bank, as opposed to a special-purpose vehicle. The issue was almost ten-fold oversubscribed.